GLENDORA, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2003) - NHRA officials announced today that a
national event exclusively showcasing NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
sportsman competition will be held in 2004. The NHRA SPORTSnationals
will be contested April 23-25 at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La.,
one of the marquee quarter-mile tracks in NHRA's Division 4.

The NHRA SPORTSnationals will feature a guaranteed purse of more than
$50,000 and competition in six NHRA Lucas Oil Series categories,
including Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super
Gas and Super Street. NHRA Lucas Oil Series national event points will
be awarded to drivers in all categories except Super Street.

"We are thrilled to announce the addition of the NHRA SPORTSnationals
to the 2004 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule," said Tom
Compton, president, NHRA. "The SPORTSnationals is an event that
sportsman racers have wanted for some time and we feel that with the
support of the sportsman racing community, we can build it into one of
the most anticipated events for sportsman racers each year."

The three-day event also will feature class eliminations in both Stock
and Super Stock, as well as a Hemi Shootout. In addition, several NHRA
professional teams are scheduled to participate in exhibition races on
Saturday evening. As an added convenience, participants may pre-enter or
register on-site.

"Today's announcement reaffirms NHRA's commitment to continue to provide
unique competition opportunities for our sportsman participants," said
Len Imbrogno, director of sportsman racing and member tracks, NHRA. "In
the future we will continue to work with our member tracks and sponsors
to develop challenging racing events to highlight our sportsman racing
programs, the grassroots foundation of NHRA."

NHRA hosted the SPORTSnationals from 1974-1986 at a trio of tracks,
including Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. (1974-'80;
1985-'86), the old Houston International Raceway (1981-'82) and
Indianapolis Raceway Park (1982-'83).